If exploring the Illawarra’s rare remnant rainforest sounds like your thing, but doing it via the thigh-trembling, grade-4 Minnamurra Falls Walk less so, good news is at hand. The much-loved, family-friendly Lyrebird Loop Walk has reopened at Minnamurra Rainforest. And it’s better than ever. 

The Lyrebird Loop is the walk with the swinging suspension bridges. Yes, the ones that kids, young and old, like to jump on. It’s as iconic as the Superb Lyrebirds that give the walk its name. And yes, if you can keep the giggling and squealing from all that bridge swinging to a minimum, you’ll be able to spot some of the famous birds here too.

The 1.6-kilometre track has always been great for families and accessibility has been further improved during the months-long project. The previous 30-year-old boardwalk has been replaced with a widened, stainless-steel path that extends higher into the rainforest, offering pretty incredible views for pretty minimal effort. And it’s suitable for all ages and abilities.

Even better, the track has been rerouted so that it now takes in some of the most picturesque areas of the park and some of the tallest trees in the area. New benches have been installed for people like me who like to take their time enjoying the serenity (also known as: discreetly catching our breath).

For those of you who do love a challenge, the 4.6-kilometre return Waterfall Walk is also open, after being closed for some time due to rock falls and general instability, making it the first time in more than a year that all the walking tracks have been open.

Just remember to add on another hour if heading from the Lyrebird Loop onto the Falls Walk and get ready to feel the burn. 

You can watch some of the park’s lyrebirds here